Warning – this recipe is not for the faint of garlic heart – it calls for NINE garlic cloves! Holy mother – so maybe not your best option for a first cooking-of-the-dinner for a new bf/gf, or the best dish to eat if you have anyone important to talk to in oh, say the next week or so. But I will vouch for this recipe and say it was delicious – I was nervous about the amount of garlic honestly, because even I being a garlic lover shuddered at the thought of using that much of it, but honestly, the other flavors balanced it right out. And the smell OHHH the smell! I love the smell of garlic cooking! It’s one of those smells that turn me into zombie mode whenever I smell it – I could be taking a jog or a walk, and that heavenly smell fills my nostrils and then you may as well consider me an extra for The Walking Dead, only instead of being on a quest for the flesh of humans, I am on a quest for garlic.
This recipe is from Americas Test Kitchen. It’s funny, my mom bought Dave and I this cookbook a few years ago, and it has become more of a paper weight. But when our internet was acting up and I couldn’t find a recipe on the world wide web, I thought I’d go old-school. So I blew the dust off of this bad boy and let me tell you – they have some amazing looking recipes! I’m looking forward to trying many more!
But this one was definitely a keeper – highly recommended for you shrimp, garlic and pasta lovers! Pretty simple ingredients, the only two that I really scratched my head at was the Vermouth and Clam Juice, since I’ve never used them before. But Vermouth is a cooking wine you can find in the dressing aisle of the grocery store (or you can use the version you’d put in cocktails). Or you could just use wine instead, and then you get to drink the rest of it 🙂 And the Clam Juice is in the same section with the tuna and canned seafood. And don’t be scared by the amount of steps – it seems like a lot, but they’re all very easy – promise!
Garlicky Shrimp Pasta
INGREDIENTS
*yields 4 servings
5 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 teaspoons), plus 4 medium cloves, smashed
(*note I did not use a garlic press, but instead one of those handy dandy hand mincers that did the job just great!)
1 pound large shrimp (21-25), peeled, deveined, each shrimp cut into 3 pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
table salt
1 pound pasta in short tubular shapes, such as fusilli, campanelle, or mezze rigatoni
(I used the mezze rigatoni)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry vermouth or white wine
(I used vermouth)
3/4 cup clam juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice plus 1 lemon, cut into wedges
ground black pepper
1) Toss 2 teaspoons minced garlic, shrimp, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Let shrimp marinate at room temperature 20 minutes.
2) Heat 4 smashed garlic cloves and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is light golden brown, 4 to 7 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and use slotted spoon to remove garlic from skillet; discard garlic. Set skillet aside.
3) Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta. Cook until just al dente, then drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water, and transfer pasta back to Dutch oven.
*Note: Dutch oven isn’t 100% necessary – I just used a regular pasta pot
4) While pasta cooks, return skillet with oil to medium heat; add shrimp with marinade to skillet in single layer. Cook shrimp, undisturbed, until oil starts to bubble gently, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir shrimp and continue to cook until almost cooked through, about 1 minute longer. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to medium bowl.
5) Add remaining 3 teaspoons minced garlic and pepper flakes to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
6) Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute; stir in vermouth and cook for 1 minute.
7) Add clam juice and parsley; cook until mixture starts to thicken, 1 to 2 minutes.
8) Take off heat and whisk in butter and lemon juice.
9) Add shrimp and sauce to pasta, adding reserved cooking water if sauce is too thick. Season with black pepper. Serve, passing lemon wedges separately.
Yum! Garlic and shrimp and pasta – oh my! The sauce was so good that I actually wished I had used a little less pasta, as to have a better sauce to pasta ratio, so my only suggestion would be to maybe only use 3/4 lb of pasta (so not the entire box) but that’s just a personal preference.
Suggested dessert? Something minty 🙂
However, if you’re eating this with someone else, 2 cases of bad breath cancel each other right out!
Friday – we made it! Congrats everyone!
Friday’s have really morphed over the years. I remember growing up, Friday was the day that I got to have McDonalds for dinner (Fish and Chips during lent – being the stellar catholic that I am) I’d get my chicken nugget happy meal (and usually a collection of ten of the same toy) but I knew that every Friday, I was gettin’ MacShack, and it helped me get through the tough elementary school week.
In high school, Friday meant a night out at the mall or the movies – getting dropped off and picked up by the parents was a major drag, until finally your first friend got their liscense and we’d jam in the car feeling like rockstars because we could come and go as we wanted, as long as we were home by curfew of course.
In college, Fridays were major – anyone who was anyone was out – and if you weren’t out, you should call the doctor cuz’ something MUST be wrong with you. It was the official start of the weekend, and it usually was a late one, that entailed ordering pizza at 3am (well, that’s what mine were like anyway.)
Annnnd in 2012, Fridays have changed quite a bit – all day at my desk, I think about my sweatpants just sitting at home, waiting to be put on. And the highlight of the night for us is deciding if we’re drinking wine or beer, and if we’re going to stick to the usual pizza-Friday routine, or try something different. And the hottest seat in town is on the couch, and dinner at the coffee table, and if we’re up passed 11pm, there’s probably a full moon.
And this Friday is no different, although instead of pizza, we’re shakin’ it up a bit and making shrimp tacos. We have a recipe that we absolutely love, for Cilantro Lime shrimp tacos, that is TDF. But, tonight we’re trying a new spin and making Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro-Lime Sour Cream from Life’s Ambrosia. And to really spice it up, pairing it with Habanero Salsa. I am starting to aquire a taste for hotness, and if Dave doesn’t have sweat dripping down his forehead, than it’s not ‘really’ hot.
Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sour Cream
INGREDIENTS
1 lb or so of shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tbsp olive oil
Corn Tortillas
Cilantro lime sour cream (recipe underneath)
Habanero Salsa (recipe underneath that recipe)
1) In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper. Add in shrimp and toss to coat completely. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes to give the flavors a chance to marry.
newly married shrimp
2) Cook shrimp in a skillet or grill pan on medium heat until pink and cooked through, about 5 minutes.
3) Heat corn tortillas over direct flame, approximately 30 seconds, until char marks begin to appear.
Cilantro-Lime Sour Cream
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup sour cream (we used low fat)
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, chopped fine
1/4 tsp cumin
juice and zest from one lime
salt to taste
1) Stir ingredients in a bowl and voila!
Habanero Salsa
INGREDIENTS
2 large or 3 medium tomatoes, cut in quarters
1 medium onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 habanero, chopped small (can use half if you don’t want it to be super spicy – the whole adds some extra heat, if you can stand it – also would advise using gloves while cutting)
Juice of 1 lime
1 handful of cliantro, chopped fine
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1) Place tomatoes in food processor; pulse to desired chunkiness and add to large mixing bowl. Do the same with the onion (when making salsa I like to layer each ingredient vs. putting them all in the food processor at once)
2) Add minced garlic, chopped habanero, lime juice, cilantro, chilli powder, cumin and salt and pepper and mix together.
3) Let sit for a while, maybe 1/2 hour or so. I like to let sit at room temperature (cold tomatoes skeeve me out) and the longer it sits, the more the habanero will settle in with the other flavors.
And, when you have all three players ready, layer Cilantro-Lime Sour Cream, Salsa and Shrimp, fold and ENJOY!!!
let’s eat!
And They Cooked Happily Ever After 